


Imperfect Things: Part 2

by xwithlovemdx



Series: My Big Fat Gay Mephadow Fic [2]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Mephadow - Freeform, Slow Burn, this shit is gonna take awhile
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2020-03-01 03:54:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18792460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xwithlovemdx/pseuds/xwithlovemdx
Summary: Mephiles is missing. There are still more questions than answers, and Shadow will stop at nothing to get them answered. Part 2 of Imperfect Things. (Human AU.)





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ack oof I'm finally posting part 2. On top of being busy with school and life, I've been really nitpicky with my writing lately. Sporadic updating is going to be the norm for this, but these things take time. This is literally the hardest I've ever worked on anything, and it's very near and dear to my heart so I'm just glad people are somewhat enjoying it. Anyway enough fucking rambling I do have something of substance to say real quick.
> 
> I want to provide some background to the way this story developed. I started writing a lot of early drafts as a human AU years ago for whatever reason so that's kind of what it's become. I don't believe it changes much about the backstories or interactions of the characters except for that they wear clothes I guess. Also, I headcanon this as taking place maybe a couple of years after [insert latest game here] so all of them are in their like. Early 20's. I'll hopefully go more into this later and fill in some extra backstory but uuuuuuhhh haven't figured that out quite yet so just come with me on this weird journey and we'll have a fun time together.

Shadow took a deep breath, calming his racing thoughts.  
Just under an hour ago, he had been facilitating a routine training exercise at the main GUN headquarters, a mind numbing activity for new recruits, when he had gotten the call. He had casually glanced at the caller ID on the screen. He had to do a double take and leave the session immediately.  
Now, he was standing at the end of a hospital hallway, facing a closed door, a bouquet of newly purchased flowers in hand. He slowly reached for the knob, and pushed it open.  
He peered inside. It was a fairly drab room with baby blue walls. A small, flat screen TV was mounted in the corner near the ceiling across from a white-sheeted bed. His eyes hesitantly traveled up, landing on the person underneath the covers.  
"Hey, Shadow! Guess who's finally out of her coma?" Rouge croaked, a big grin on her sallow face. Shadow entered and made his way to the side of the bed. The sight of her was more jarring than he had expected. Her eyelids drooped in what seemed like exhaustion, and her muscles had atrophied in the weeks she had been unconscious.  
Despite his discomfort at her state, he couldn't help but smile upon seeing her in good spirits. "It took you long enough."  
"Hey, a girl needs her beauty sleep, doesn't she?" She laughed, but it was really just a wheeze. "Those flowers for my hot nurse?"  
"No." Shadow answered, then he frowned, kicking himself for not getting the joke right away. He handed them over to her, and she sniffed indulgently. "Damn, I missed smelling things other than orange juice and disinfectant."  
"I'm sure you did." He noticed a chair shoved to the side, and decided to pull it up and sit down. "How are you feeling?"  
"Like I've been stuck in bed for two weeks. I can barely walk to the bathroom. As soon as I'm out of here, I'm hitting the gym." She glanced at Shadow. "So, tell me about Mephiles. I assume you subdued him somewhat and he didn't kill you, right?"  
Shadow shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I subdued him, yes, but he's remained missing. I've been working with GUN to track him down, but so far, nothing has come up. I'm hoping it's because he's weakened, and not because he's plotting something else."  
"God, I can barely remember... anything. The last thing I can think of is being in that weird white space. It's all kind of... a blur after that."  
"It was a summoning field. Mephiles was trying to summon Iblis."  
"What the fuck is an Iblis?"  
"I'm... still not one hundred percent sure." He sighed. "When I was in the summoning circle with him, I saw a lot of his memories. It was... weird. It was like we were one person."  
"Is that why you wouldn't let go of him?"  
"I suppose that is why." He nodded, the memory flooding back to him. "All I wanted to do was summon something called Iblis. From my understanding, Mephiles and Iblis seem to be two halves of an even more powerful being called Solaris. They got split up when their timeline was destroyed, and Iblis is somehow... lost. He needed the emeralds to bring Iblis back to earth."  
"You learned all of that? How long were you in that circle before I came in?"  
He shook his head. "I don't know. Time didn't... work in there. I lived almost his entire lifetime. I don't remember a lot of it, it felt like a dream." Shadow felt a chill run down his spine. "God, that means he's probably lived a lot of my life, too."  
"Hey, maybe you guys could grab a beer and talk about all of that one of these days. It seems like a great conversation starter."  
Shadow narrowed his eyes at her. "Just because I understand where he's coming from, it doesn't mean I'm going to side with him. What he did to you and the others is inexcusable, and he's still a dangerously unstable force that needs to be contained."  
"Okay, okay. I can see you're back on your 'vengeance is mine' bullshit." She rolled her eyes, smiling playfully. "At least no one died."  
"You were certainly close." Shadow muttered. "I, uh, I want to apologize, actually."  
“For what?”  
Shadow rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her gaze. “Just.. me, I guess. You do a lot for me, and I continually just... get you into a lot of dangerous situations. I’m just thinking about how... you almost died in that summoning circle. It was..." He trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to admit it. How terrifying it was.  
“Well, you know I choose to be your friend. If I was scared of the danger, I wouldn’t be in this line of work.” Her gaze softened. “Besides, I know you’d do the same for me.”  
“But I didn’t. I just let you stay in the summoning space, even though it was hurting you.”  
“We’re a team, Shadow." She reached out, placing a hand on his knee. "All that matters is I survived and we stopped Mephiles from summoning... well, whatever he was summoning, Iblis or Solaris or whatever. Doesn’t matter that you’re a little sturdier than I am. We protect and stand up for each other. No matter what.”  
He smiled back. “Thanks, Rouge. You mean... a lot to me." He hesitated, casting his gaze down. "You’re my closest friend, I hope you know that.”  
“Of course I know that, you dense bastard.” She smirked. “Now, if you could sneak some booze in here for me then you’ll be my closest friend, too.”  
He laughed. Genuinely laughed. “I’ll do my best. Security’s tighter around here than headquarters, I swear.”  
“Yeah. Like a whole bunch of sick and infirm patients are gonna suddenly riot.” She sighed. “But seriously, this place blows. I just wanna be out of here.”  
“It’ll be good for you to rest. Just think of it as an extension of that vacation you never finished.”  
“I hardly consider lying in this drab place watching MTV and drinking orange juice a vacation. But I guess it beats going back early and being on light duty filing old paperwork.”  
“I’ll see what I can do about getting you some champagne.” Shadow said.  
Rouge punched his arm playfully. Even her fake punch was weak and half assed. It snapped Shadow back to the stark reality of her physical condition.  
“I’m holding you to it, Shad.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hospital Visitation Hours are from 10 am-3 pm can't you READ????

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ack oof okay so the lack of Update the past (too many) months is because I accidentally got into Good Omens (another fucking immortal couple with slowburn/angst elements) and I got. Distracted. But I'm back now and I'm going to try to hold myself to update this more than once a month if I can. I'm trying to overthink it less and just write more so I can share all of my ideas and development with the masses.
> 
> If anyone needs any Good Omens fic recs in the meantime I got about 300 and counting to send to you. 
> 
> Anyway thank you for the kudos and the comments I appreciate each and every single one of them.

The hospital room was pitch black. Night had fallen, the furniture only vaguely defined by the weak moonlight trickling through the windows. No sound except the dull hum of medical equipment.   
Rouge stared at the ceiling. She felt exhaustion weigh her down. She had only been out of her coma for a couple of days, and already she was unbelievably antsy. Out of the corner she could see the blinking green light on the flat screen in the corner. On, off, on, off. She found herself tapping a rhythm synchronized to this cycle. Fuck, she couldn't tell what was worse. Her sleeplessness, or her boredom.  
She was snapped out of her nervous study of the dark expanse of ceiling above her. Goosebumps had formed on her skin, a chill running down her spine. Something wasn't right. Fear welled in her chest. The sense that someone was here in the room with her was too strong to ignore.  
Rouge took a deep breath. She steeled herself, sitting up weakly. Her muscles screamed at the effort. She barely took any note of the pain, however, when she saw who was standing at the edge of her bed.   
"Hello, Rouge." His voice was cool and had a slight edge to it. The little moonlight from the window was just enough to reveal one reptilian green eye. The glint of a fang.   
Rouge felt another wave of nausea, just like the one she had felt when she first encountered Mephiles. A swimming murkiness behind her eyes, an intrusive softening around the edges of reality. This time, there was a brief flash of something. A memory that wasn't quite her own, but one she knew had been seen and felt through her eyes. She ignored the cold sweat she was in, the fact that her heart threatened to leap out of her chest. She instinctively reached down to her hip, then inwardly kicked herself. There was nowhere to store weapons in these stupid hospital gowns.   
Slowly, she pushed the covers away. She swung her feet over the bed and stood up. Her legs threatened to give out underneath her, but she clutched the metal IV stand next to her bed before they could do so and held back a grimace. The entire time, she kept her eyes trained on the figure before her. She knew she couldn't put up a fight in this state, but she hoped against hope that he understood that she meant business.  
"What the fuck do you want, Mephiles?"  
"Merely... to chat." He stepped closer, and she tensed even more. He smiled his fake-looking smile. It looked as if he still couldn't quite figure out how to portray emotion properly. The skin on his face crinkled in all of the wrong places, his eyes were just a little too reptilian, a little too fiery to be anything close to human. Rouge tried not to visibly shudder.   
He continued, seeming to notice her physicality. "You have no reason to fear me. I mean, come on, why would I want to attack someone in such a vulnerable position?"  
She narrowed her eyes. "I don't know. It seems that a coward like yourself would jump at the opportunity."  
"Keep that up," he quipped, his smile disappearing, "and you might end up with something to actually worry about."  
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I hurt your fragile ego?”  
Mephiles pretended to ignored her, pulling up two chairs and taking a seat in the center of the room. He gestured to the one across from him. "Come. Sit."  
Rouge kept her gaze trained on him, and slowly walked over. The floor was cold on her bare feet, and her hospital gown was thin and papery against her goosebumped skin. She sat down. Her head continued to swim slightly with the strange familiarity that she had for Mephiles.  
He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. Completely composed, completely manufactured movements. “I need to know, Rouge. Are you a chaotic being?”  
“No.”   
He tilted his head back further, closing his eyes. “Then how could you have provided all of that energy to Shadow in the summoning field?”  
“I didn’t provide any energy to him. I mean," she furrowed her brow, trying to think back, "I don't think I did. I think he just took it from you." She shrugged. "I barely remember it. I'm still not quite sure what happened."  
"It just doesn't make sense to me." He opened his eyes. The pupils were slits now. "You did something in there. Something to make him... more powerful. So he was able to overcome me. How could you not know what you did?"  
Rouge attempted to run through the events in her head, her mind racing. It had really all been a blur. But as she continued to consider it, there was one thing that continually came back to her. "It must have been... an emotional reaction."  
"A what?"   
Right. Rouge had to remember who she was dealing with here. "Well, you do know that chaos energy is fueled primarily by emotion and bonds, right?"   
Mephiles looked like he didn't really believe that statement. He just hummed noncommittally.  
"So, because of that, the chaos emeralds are easily... manipulated, I would say, by the intention of the user. That's what I've gathered from my research and exposure to them. Shadow and I are really close. I remember I was... thinking of a specific memory while I was in there, and I think he sensed that, and it snapped him out of whatever trance he was in."  
"So let me get this straight." Mephiles sighed. He stood up, and started to slowly pace back and forth. "You expect me to believe that some weak emotions are what stopped an all-powerful Sun God from reforming?"  
"I don't know what to tell you if you think emotions are weak influences on chaotic energy." Rouge said. "There has been extensive research and evidence that suggests that it might be the core drive-"  
"And all of that research was done by useless humans!" Mephiles rushed at her. He leaned in, their noses almost brushing. There was a fiery anger that boiled just beneath his nonchalant expression. "Quit trying to play with me, mortal. You manipulated that energy field in some way."  
Rouge followed the first course of action that came to mind. Her fist connected with Mephiles' jaw. He stumbled back, his body jolting like a rag doll.   
"You're the one playing games, you creep. You come in here and violate my privacy, asking me questions that I really don't have the full answer to." She stood up. She was riding on the adrenaline produced from the punch. Already she was feeling stronger. "I would say go ask Shadow all of these questions, but it sounds like you're just too goddam scared of him because he beat you, so you decide to get your rocks off from harassing someone who's bedridden and can't fight back in any meaningful way."  
Mephiles lifted his head. “I believe I can safely assume that punch was all you had."  
“I can contact Shadow in a moments notice. You want your answers and possibly an ass kicking, or do you want to leave me the fuck alone?"  
She watched the demon. He was still, and then his eyes locked on a point behind her. Before she could understand what was happening, he was gone in a flash of light.   
"Is this your means of communication?"  
She turned around, and saw that he had picked up her pink and white cell phone from the bedside table. He examined it with mild indifference, then slipped it into the pocket of his black pants.   
"I've told you everything I know, Mephiles." As she said this, she realized she could hardly keep her voice from shaking. "There's nothing more I can offer you."  
"You haven't told me everything because I still don't quite understand all of this." He made his way back to his chair. "Let's assume that what you say is true, that emotion is one of the driving factors for chaos energy. It would be something I want in my chaotic arsenal."  
"You already have it, considering your tantrums."  
He glared at her. "I am above tantrums."  
"Okay, right." She tried to keep the dry amusement out of her voice that threatened to creep through despite her nervousness.  
"How do I harness its raw potential, Rouge? How do I use emotion to my advantage?"  
"I don't fucking know, I'm not your therapist." This conversation was becoming exasperating. "Emotion is something you just... feel. It's not a tool, or a move. It's just... what happens when you live." She shook her head. "This isn't going to be useful to you, you know. First of all, you have to be capable of feeling emotions in the first place, or at least a wide range of them, which I highly doubt you are. And second, you need people to feel those emotions for, which I highly doubt you have.”  
Mephiles glanced up at her. Her vision had adjusted somewhat to the dim light, and she cringed again at how inhumanly green his eyes were. But it wasn't just her vision that had improved. The green, reptilian slits were definitely glowing. The air seemed to crackle just a little bit with chaotic energy. She recognized this, and she thought for certain that her heart would burst out of her chest. She needed that phone.  
The demon moved, and she braced herself for the worst. Instead, there was the clatter of her phone being tossed onto the floor. She stared at it in surprise.  
"You're of no use to me." The distinct glow in his eyes had faded. "Once I regain my full power again, you and Shadow and all of your little friends will regret your actions against me. In the meantime," he smiled coldly, "I wish you a speedy recovery, Rouge."  
There was a blinding flash of light. She was alone again, with nothing but distinct spots in her vision from the chaos control. Rouge collapsed on the bed, sweat soaking through her hospital gown.  
She managed to drag herself down to the floor, fumbling her phone into her hands and pressing down the home button urgently.  
"C-call Shadow." She whispered, her voice wobbly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mephiles said dumbass rights :/


End file.
